Svalbard’s set at August’s ArcTanGent festival seems like a moment of triumph. The post-black metal quartet are just a stone’s throw from their home town of Bristol, and the tent is rammed – thousands of heads bob to the band’s frantic, snarling verses, then are stilled for the shimmering and shoegaze-inclined melodies. When singer/guitarist Serena Cherry roars the hook of the song Clickbait – a primal, punkish “Fuck off!” – a legion of voices scream it with her. “That’s never happened before,” she giggles into the microphone afterwards.
Cherry seems jubilant, but when she and I sit down backstage shortly after the set, she reveals that the elation was merely a mask. “You’ve probably seen me on stage smiling for 35 minutes,” she says, “but I’m at one of the lowest points of my life at the moment.”
